Have walked-up Mission Peak on many occasions and it is a lot of fun. Especially good for watching the sunset from the summit or catching some sun above the fog. It can get very hot in the summer on this peak. On one night visit in the summer, standing on the bay side of the summit the breeze felt about 5-10 degrees cooler than the breeze coming up from the Livermore side.

Up the standard route from Stanford Ave on a hot, sunny day. I broke my digital camera on the summit when I shook my hand to dislodge an intimidating-looking insect, and unfortunately my camera went with it and smashed on a rock :(
Unphased, I tried to descend a different route on the way back (Horse Heaven Trail), but was blocked by a dozen recalcitrant cattle unwilling to move. There wasn't an easy way around, so I traversed and descended the same route.
A beautiful peak with a beautiful view!

I've been up there a couple of times - always for some "exercise" or "training" purpose.

Never liked the route (Stanford Ave - too crowded and also it was somewhat boring) but I do remember the first time up there with a bunch of friends. We brought a roast duck, fried rice, noodles, lots of other food, binoculars, and had a moon-light dinner while the strong wind was blowing so hard on our faces. Some of us were wrapped together in this giant poncho and the moon.... OMG... the moon was so big & round and totally amazing. The view of the bay was also beautiful. Definitely a fun and an unforgettable experience.

It's weird... Before that, I had been living almost across the street from Ohlone College, where there this other TH was located, and yet all that time I lived there, I had never taken a hike. (My dad, sis, bro and their friends did though.) I would love to try this route sometime. From the photos taken by my buddy, it seems much nicer - a longer hike but w/ better scenery.

P.S. Probably not so much of a fun hike if going during mid-day. On the other hand, summiting in the morning or evening is un-doubtfully nice.

Was going to climb Rose Peak from Stanford Ave., which I had done from Del Valle the day before, but stopped at Mission Peak due to a late start. Still, a nice mini-hike – had the summit all to myself on a beautiful Wednesday morning! There was a jacket and a pair of shorts at the summit – it made me afraid that I might run into a naked guy on my descent! Eek!

I've climbed this peak dozens of times in the day or night; I think it has some good bang for the buck if you want a relatively short/steep hike (~2000'/~50 min.). There is a nice traversing trail that goes across the face of the upper mountain that my friend and I dubbed "The American Route" considering that we seemed to be the only Americans on the hill and the only ones going direct. I think the park service is writing tickets for people that cut the switchbacks now, but they haven't closed "The American Route" yet.... that would be un-American!

It was insanely windy climbing up today (can you say, "jetstream"?). Almost considered turning around but I had decided earlier in the week that I wanted to do it on New Years Day. Half ran and half walked up and finally made it up in ~50 mins. The wind felt like it was actually helping push me up on some sections. On other sections it was all I could do to keep from blowing over. The summit pyramid was ok because it was sheltered from the southwest wind but at the top I literally could not stick more than my head up above the rocks or risk getting blown to Livermore. I think it took me about the same time to go down because of the strong headwinds! Saw just a few other brave souls on their way up. Luckily, the rain held up.

This is a fun little workout peak with a great view of the Bay area from the top. Walking briskly it takes around 1 hour to get to the summit. I climbed it early in the spring, and it was much more pleasant. In the summer it gets really hot on the trail to the top.

I've gone up this mountain four times now and I have enjoyed every single trip. On one of my summit bids of Mission Peak, my friend and I filmed a movie up there. My most recent time I went, my friend and I took a side trip to the Mount Allison and Monument Peak summits, to the south. which was cool.

A beautiful day, blue sky with puffy clouds, the big rain last night cut some 1 foot deep cracks in the road, but the track was mostly dry. I'm trying to get in shape for doing Wainwright's North England Coast to Coast in July. This should do it. The second time up I borrowed some Traverse poles, which gave my upper arms a workout and kept me from slipping on the gravel coming down..highly recommended.

I've hiked up Mission Peak many times over the years, as the trailheads are only a few minutes from home. This can be a strenuous training hike. From Stanford Ave it climbs 2,127 vertical feet in about 3 miles. Lots of people on the trail today, despite the sometimes threatening New Years Day weather. From the summit of Mission Peak, I continued on over to Monument Peak, which is another 3 miles or so to the south. Everyone else must have run out of steam once they'd reached the Mission Peak summit, because I didn't pass a single person from there all the way out to Monument Peak and back. Lots of rain in the last few days, so the hillsides were nice and green, but the trails were muddy in places. One of my favorite features up here is the Great Wall of Milpitas, an old rock wall that meanders across the countryside for a few miles on an apparently random route. You really have to go on out to Monument Peak to get a good view of it.